Karen Owen PowerPoint: Duke University Student's Sex Thesis Poses Question Of Double Standard

Duke University alum Karen Owen's graphic sex PowerPoint thesis -- in which she analyzes and critiques her college-era conquests -- has entertained some and infuriated others. The Today Show takes the temperature at Duke and has experts weigh in on Owen's situation.

WATCH:

Comments

[FoxIslander]

08:39 PM on 10/11/2010

I'm sure her parents are quite proud. She has just limited her "real relationship" pool to men who date strippers.

[voxleo]

10:17 PM on 10/15/2010

Hey now, just what is it that you are insinuating with that kind of comment? Strippers are fine people as are the men that date them. In fact if they can actually manage to set themselves apart from the hordes of men from every possible walk of life and class imaginable who hit on them every day in order to actually date a stripper, the level of self-confidence such a man might have could be quite a catch. I know someone who married a stripper and a card carrying member of MENSA. Open your mind enough and some day you too can have a high enough IQ to dance naked without shame, or possibly date someone who does. You'd be surprised what you discover by getting to know people instead of making snap judgments.

[LaFemmeSASE]

08:21 PM on 10/11/2010

There has always been a double standard in the sexual relations of men and women. Male teacher sleeps with a female underage student would spend several years in prison while women get a pat on the wrist. Had this been a young man who had done this he would have been called a vile sinister pervert with no respect for women, yet this woman escapes unscathed in comparison. I believe in gender equality however there are some women out there who cry gender equality when men disrespect women but remain silent when it happens the other way around and that bothers me deeply.

[LetMeUnderstandThis]

03:27 PM on 10/11/2010

Didn't the Happy Hooker get her start at Duke, LOL

[Samuel Perry]

06:23 PM on 10/12/2010

Xaviera Hollander is still my sexual hero, 17 years later.

[MAJK]

10:35 AM on 10/11/2010

Men or women who go into this much detail about their sexual escapades are plain immature.

It's like talking about how many beers someone drank, how fast someone drove on the freeway, how many joints someone smoked - it's just al about gusto and ego - and yes, more often than not, men are the one's stroking their egos.

Why women want to be like men in this arena, is beyond me.

[onionboy]

04:14 PM on 10/11/2010

Men who brag are only hurting their chances. I've never been one to talk about who I slept with. As a result I have spent more than my fair share on those divine lists some women have in their head of guys they'll sleep with when they just want to get laid, want no strings, but also don't want to risk a psycho. I'm no Brad Pitt for sure, but they knew that they could visit me without any risk of loss of reputation.

[KingMidas]

11:17 PM on 10/09/2010

All I know is, there are a lot of sick young people that are overly hung-up on sexual activity going to college.

Parents ought to be ashamed of themselves. Is this the best you can produce? And now that women are just men with vaginas, has life gotten any better? I pity my sons to have girlfriends from this cheap generation of women.

For no matter what anyone says, a person (woman or man) who sleeps around does not put much value on him/herself.

Archaic, but true. I have never bought into the men must sow wild oats theory and it just makes me sick to my stomach to see women, the superior sex, acting like fools.

[NativeChika]

11:42 PM on 10/10/2010

I agree with you I despise this type of behavior regardless of gender and always have.

[HDR]

06:20 PM on 10/09/2010

Where's the double standard here?! Whom this women beds is between her and those she potentially infects. The ick factor of the poster goes through the roof regardless of his or her gender or if they are straight or gay.

[gayleg]

01:18 PM on 10/09/2010

Double standard? Oh yes!

[3x10p8]

12:24 PM on 10/09/2010

I would rate Karen F. Owens as a solid "5", if she gets a nose job and loses her beer gut, I'll bump her up to a "6".
Those stubby little legs will always be a problem, though.

[gayleg]

01:22 PM on 10/09/2010

No one cares what you think.

Although I guess it's good you posted this as it illustrates how men think they have the right to judge and voice their opinions on women they know or don't know publicly.

Which is exactly what's bothering so many about this woman and proves the whole double standard point.

So. . . thanks.

[3x10p8]

01:31 PM on 10/09/2010

You cared enough to reply, so....Thanks!

[recless]

02:13 AM on 10/10/2010

The double standard is irrelevant to this issue. What is at issue here is bad reporting (it is a "mock" thesis, not a real one), the failure of common sense by the author to have sent it out online, and the flawed trust she apparently had in those she sent it to.

Or, perhaps she intended this to get out?

In any case, talking about double standards, if it is OK for you to condemn ALL men then it has to be OK for him to think the way he does, correct?

[thereisonlyoneparty]

10:12 PM on 10/10/2010

For some of us the only want to bed a "10" is to get with a "5" twice. Or a "2" five times. If I can even get that.

[ajerram]

11:47 AM on 10/09/2010

The violation of the privacy of those young men - whether intentioned or not - notwithstanding, imo what we have here is a rare glimpse of one person's unadulterated honestly.

My guess is the men involved were objectifying her as much as she them, and equally driven to increase their personal score count. She is just a lot more creative and forgot momentarily to always powerpoint responsibly.

[XTABAY]

12:58 PM on 10/09/2010

"intentioned, objectifying, equally driven" = They were all horny and doing a natural thing

[ajerram]

02:11 PM on 10/09/2010

Basically. "Sound of air being emitted from bag in background."

[thereisonlyoneparty]

10:14 PM on 10/10/2010

I think that the nature of the experiment though is where the problem comes in. Whether see intended to make this in the beginning or not, I really doubt she could have passed the IRB at any point.

[ajerram]

11:54 PM on 10/10/2010

Agree, nobody knows but her. It just seemed people were a little quick on the draw with those stones.

[Js420]

11:20 AM on 10/09/2010

any sex tapes?

[BMW540i95]

10:07 AM on 10/09/2010

Why could this not be a UNC Grad? :-(

[PoliticalMMA]

10:55 PM on 10/09/2010

Because Chapel Hill has standards lol

[ask0]

05:30 AM on 10/09/2010

It is double standards

A man who brags about sleeping with 13 women over 4 years would be laughed at. An average of 3.25 woman a year is nothing to brag about. Its pretty sad.
Yet, she gets called a ho and a sk an k. by so many. here.
Why are you not disgusted at males who had no problem having casual sex with her.

And men do brag about their conquests, these guys discussed her amongst themselves and were aware. That does not seem to trouble many posters.

There are double standards. And if a man had created this presentation - he would have come of far worse then she did.

[recless]

08:57 AM on 10/09/2010

Men may brag, women may brag; that is irrelevant. The casual sex is irrelevant. What is at issue here is naming names and then being so irresponsible as to allow it to get published.

[HDR]

09:07 AM on 10/09/2010

Exactly! Thank you.

[gayleg]

01:16 PM on 10/09/2010

Men name names constantly. They tell their friends everything they do, and would like to do, with women-- in excruciating detail.

Goose, meet Gander and all that!

[AngelaQuattrano]

11:49 AM on 10/09/2010

Nope. The issue is that men want the women they bed to be silent. They don't want to hear that women think some guys absolutely suck at sex and can't please a woman, and they don't think that women should be able to share the info under any circumstances with each other. These guys are athletes, and they think women should be building their reputations, not comparing facts and judging them.

[vocallyclueless]

02:42 PM on 10/09/2010

Perhaps that is the issue as you see it. 3 points in disagreement.

One. "Men want the women they bed to be silent." Blanket statements like that annoy me. I realize that I have no right to mute my exes. I have not divulged details of our sexual encounters to anyone, but I do not hold them to this standard. However, I would thank them NOT to make their comments in a fashion that is easily distributed online. Good or bad, it's not anyone else's business. THAT, is the real issue.

Two. "They don't think that women should be able to share the info under any circumstances with each other." I am not a sex counsellor, but it is my impression that it is generally more positive to offer constructive suggestions to your partner than to tell all of your girlfriends how much he sucks at sex. This applies to more than sex. I imagine our work colleagues would prefer that we help them rather than complain behind their backs about how much they suck.

Three. "These guys are athletes, and they think...." I am not an athlete, so, like my user namesake, I can't tell you what they think about women. Judging by your username, you also are not a male athlete. Any statement that you make, even based on the third party recount of Ms. Owen, is an assumption.

[recless]

02:15 AM on 10/10/2010

You know this because...??

[My Wall]

03:57 AM on 10/09/2010

What's sad to me is this girl went to bed with 13 guys and NOT ONE wanted to take her to the movies or McDonald's. The fact that she also likes rough sex (if she's actually experienced it...) makes me think this girl saw herself as trash years before she graduated from high school.
Still - not one real date in all those years? What a lonely person she must be...

[gayleg]

01:26 PM on 10/09/2010

I just assumed she didn't write about men she had real relationships with. That this list was about hookups only.

[Marklar]

04:24 PM on 10/09/2010

Sounds like you aren't getting laid.

[olddognewtrick]

02:43 AM on 10/09/2010

I prefer to call it...Fun Size...

[progressivestance84]

10:36 PM on 10/08/2010

So now women are just as piggish as men apparently. Equal rights here we go!